Foundation products are typically applied to the entire face to mask perceived imperfections in skin texture (e.g., fine lines and wrinkles), pigmentation or vascularization. It is desirable for foundations to mask these imperfections and yet still allow for a natural appearance of the skin. In other words, consumers want good coverage from a foundation product, but do not want the appearance of too much make-up, e.g., a cakey appearance.
Pigmented oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsion foundations are a popular type of foundation product available on the market today. These products are relatively inexpensive and are easy to apply to the skin. Moreover, the pigmented oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsion foundations lend themselves to variation in pigment type and level to give different degrees of color coverage and albedo of the face.
It is believed, however, that, in order to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and to avoid a cakey appearance when utilizing a foundation product, it is important to deposit the pigment from the foundation product uniformly on the skin. Unfortunately, the tendency of the pigment is to agglomerate (i.e., flocculate) in the foundation product and, upon application of the foundation product to the skin, to either collect in the fine lines and wrinkles or agglomerate on the skin, thereby accentuating, rather than minimizing, the appearance of the fine lines or wrinkles, and further delivering a cakey, unnatural appearance to the skin.
Preventing agglomeration or flocculation of the pigment both in a foundation product and upon its application to the skin can be very difficult. One way to improve the stability of the pigments in foundation products is to “coat” the pigment, e.g., by adsorbing certain materials onto the surface of the pigment, wet ball milling or plasma treatment. See, e.g., Driscoll, P., “Treated Pigments in Decorative Cosmetics”, Cosmetics and Toiletries, Vol. 104 (July 1989), pp 43-45. For example, foundation and other personal care products containing hydrophobically- or hydrophilically-coated pigments are known in the art. (See, for example, Lee, J. et al., “Preparation of Ultra Fine Fe3O4 Particles by Precipitation in the Presence of PVA at High pH”, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 177, p. 490 (1996) and European Patent Application 504,066, published Mar. 13, 1992). There is, however, an ongoing need for cosmetic foundations that exhibit lesser agglomeration of pigments in the product itself and when applied to skin. More importantly, there is a need to provide products that meet consumer needs with respect to the natural appearance of the skin when the product is applied.
It has now surprisingly been found that foundation products, wherein agglomeration of the pigment contained therein is minimized, can be formulated using the technology hereinafter described. Moreover, when the foundation products of the present invention are applied to the skin, the pigment remains essentially unagglomerated and is therefore capable of being uniformly deposited on the skin. Accordingly, good coverage of the skin and a natural appearance of the skin is provided. This is a surprising development, given that the use of oppositely charged particles in cosmetic formulations is typically avoided due to interactions which create negative effects.
It has also now been surprisingly found that products useful in fabric care products, home care products, diapers, incontinence articles, feminine care products, pharmaceuticals, oral care products, antiperspirants, deodorants, personal cleansing products, skin care products and hair care products, wherein agglomeration of the composition contained therein is minimized, can be formulated using the technology hereinafter described. Moreover, since the claimed composition remains essentially unagglomerated, it can also be utilized in the above disclosed consumer fields deposited on a substrate. Accordingly, good coverage of the substrate with the uniformly dispersed composition allows for enhanced improvements in the care of fabrics, skin, hair, and teeth.